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Eleven books by a shoemaker of Görlitz who wrote, by his own account, because he could not help it. Ten of them stand here in the seventeenth-century English of John Sparrow, who translated Boehme within a generation of his death and whose prose is itself now four hundred years old; where that English has drifted out of reach, the facing pane carries a modern register — the same text with archaic inflection and spelling normalised by rule, never paraphrased. Nothing is reworded, and where no register appears beside a passage it is because the rules found nothing to change.
The eleventh book is not in English at all, and it is the reason this note exists.
Des trois principes de l'essence divine, printed at Paris in 1802, is the same work as Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence, which stands here as the second book — the same twenty-seven chapters in the same order, opening `Du premier principe de l'essence divine` against Sparrow's `Of the first Principle of the Divine Essence`. Its translator was Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, who gave the last years of his life to putting Boehme into French, and who has a shelf of his own in this Lycaeum.
That makes a closed circuit inside this archive, and it is worth naming plainly. Saint-Martin translates Boehme. La Iniciación, printed in Montevideo a hundred and forty years later, traces its own descent through Saint-Martin. A reader can therefore follow one thread from a German mystic of 1619, through the French philosopher who carried him into another language, to a Spanish-language monthly of the 1940s that claimed them both — and read every step of it in the original.
The two are shelved as one work rather than two because that is what they are. They are not set as facing panes: an English translation of 1619 and a French translation of 1802 are two independent readings of a lost German original, and pairing them line by line would assert a correspondence neither translator ever claimed.
1106. Now being drawn together, it looketh like azure or skycolour blue, but when the light or flash riseth up therein, then it looketh like the precious jaspis or jasper stone, or as I may call it in my language, a glassy sea, on which the sun shineth, and that very clear and bright. 107. But when the bitter quality riseth up therein, then it divideth and formeth itself, as if it were alive or lively, or as if the life did rise up there, in a greenish flourishing manner and form, like a green flash of lightning, to speak after the manner of men, so that it dazzleth a man's eyes, and blindeth him. 108. But when the heat riseth up therein, then the green form inclineth to a half red or ruddy form, as when a carbuncle stone shineth from the green flash or beam of light. 109. But when the light, which is the Son of God, shineth into this sea of nature, then it getteth its yellowish and whitish colour, which I cannot compare to anything; you must be content to stay or tarry with this aspect or vision, till you come into the other life. 110. For this now is the true heaven of nature, which is out of or from God, wherein the holy angels dwell, and out of which they were created in the beginning. 111. Behold now, when the Mercurius or tone in this natureheaven riseth up, there the divine and angelical joyfulness riseth up, for therein rise up forms, imagings, colours and angelical fruits, which blossom curiously, grow, spring, flourish and stand in perfection, as to all manner of bearing or fruit trees, plants and springing growths, of a gracious, comely, lovely, amiable, blessed prospect, vision or sight to be looked
2upon, with a most delicious, lovely, pleasant smell and taste. 112. But here I speak with an angel's tongue, thou must not understand it earthly, like unto this world. 113. It is with Mercurius in this manner or form also. Thou must not think that there is any hard beating, striking, toning or sounding, or whistling and piping in the Deity, as when one taketh a huge trumpet, and bloweth in it, and maketh it to sound. 114. O no, dear man, thou half dead angel, that is not so, but all is done and consisteth in power; for the divine being standeth in power. But the holy angels sing, ring and trumpet forth with clear and shrill sounding; for to that end God hath made them out of himself, that they should increase and multiply the heavenly joy: [And therefore were the angels made out of God.] 115. Also such an image was Adam, as God created him, before his Eve was made out of him; but the corrupted Salitter did wrestle with the wellspring of life in Adam, till it overcame. And so Adam became weary, which made him fall into a sleep. Here he was undone: And if the Barmhertzigkeit, or the mercy of God, had not come to help him, and made a woman out of him, he would have still continued asleep. Of this we will speak in its proper Place. 116. This, as is mentioned above, is that fair, bright and holy heaven, which is thus in the total Deity, and which hath neither beginning nor end, whither no creature with its sense can reach.
3117. Yet thou shouldst know this, that always in a place now one quality sheweth itself more powerfully than the others, now the second pre vaileth, now the third, then now the fourth, now again the fifth, now the sixth, then again now the seventh. 118. Thus there is an eternal wrestling, working and friendly amiable rising up of love; where then in this rising up the Deity continually sheweth itself more and more wonderful, more incomprehensible and more unsearchable. 119. So that the holy angels cannot sufficiently enough rejoice themselves, nor sufficiently enough converse, walk and most lovingly sport therein, nor sufficiently enough sing that beautiful Te Deum Laudamus, We praise thee, O God, as to each quality of the great God, according to his wonderful revelation, and wisdom, and beauty, and fruit, and form. 120. For the qualities rise up eternally, and so there is not with them or among them either beginning, middle or end. 121. Although I have written here how all is come to be, and how all is framed, formed and imaged, and how the Deity riseth up, yet for all that thou must not think that it hath any rest, ceasing or extinction, and that afterwards it riseth up thus again. 122. O no: But I must write in part or by pieces, for the Reader's better understanding, that he might thereby apprehend somewhat, and so attain the sense and meaning thereof. 123. Nor must thou think that I have climbed up aloft into heaven, and beheld it with my carnal or fleshly eyes. 0 no; hear me, thou
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
1106. Now being drawn together, it looketh like azure or skycolour blue, but when the light or flash riseth up therein, then it looketh like the precious jaspis or jasper stone, or as I may call it in my language, a glassy sea, on which the sun shineth, and that very clear and bright. 107. But when the bitter quality riseth up therein, then it divideth and formeth itself, as if it were alive or lively, or as if the life did rise up there, in a greenish flourishing manner and form, like a green flash of lightning, to speak after the manner of men, so that it dazzleth a man's eyes, and blindeth him. 108. But when the heat riseth up therein, then the green form inclineth to a half red or ruddy form, as when a carbuncle stone shineth from the green flash or beam of light. 109. But when the light, which is the Son of God, shineth into this sea of nature, then it getteth its yellowish and whitish colour, which I cannot compare to anything; you must be content to stay or tarry with this aspect or vision, till you come into the other life. 110. For this now is the true heaven of nature, which is out of or from God, wherein the holy angels dwell, and out of which they were created in the beginning. 111. Behold now, when the Mercurius or tone in this natureheaven riseth up, there the divine and angelical joyfulness riseth up, for therein rise up forms, imagings, colours and angelical fruits, which blossom curiously, grow, spring, flourish and stand in perfection, as to all manner of bearing or fruit trees, plants and springing growths, of a gracious, comely, lovely, amiable, blessed prospect, vision or sight to be looked
2upon, with a most delicious, lovely, pleasant smell and taste. 112. But here I speak with an angel's tongue, thou must not understand it earthly, like unto this world. 113. It is with Mercurius in this manner or form also. Thou must not think that there is any hard beating, striking, toning or sounding, or whistling and piping in the Deity, as when one taketh a huge trumpet, and bloweth in it, and maketh it to sound. 114. O no, dear man, thou half dead angel, that is not so, but all is done and consisteth in power; for the divine being standeth in power. But the holy angels sing, ring and trumpet forth with clear and shrill sounding; for to that end God hath made them out of himself, that they should increase and multiply the heavenly joy: [And therefore were the angels made out of God.] 115. Also such an image was Adam, as God created him, before his Eve was made out of him; but the corrupted Salitter did wrestle with the wellspring of life in Adam, till it overcame. And so Adam became weary, which made him fall into a sleep. Here he was undone: And if the Barmhertzigkeit, or the mercy of God, had not come to help him, and made a woman out of him, he would have still continued asleep. Of this we will speak in its proper Place. 116. This, as is mentioned above, is that fair, bright and holy heaven, which is thus in the total Deity, and which hath neither beginning nor end, whither no creature with its sense can reach.
3117. Yet thou shouldst know this, that always in a place now one quality sheweth itself more powerfully than the others, now the second pre vaileth, now the third, then now the fourth, now again the fifth, now the sixth, then again now the seventh. 118. Thus there is an eternal wrestling, working and friendly amiable rising up of love; where then in this rising up the Deity continually sheweth itself more and more wonderful, more incomprehensible and more unsearchable. 119. So that the holy angels cannot sufficiently enough rejoice themselves, nor sufficiently enough converse, walk and most lovingly sport therein, nor sufficiently enough sing that beautiful Te Deum Laudamus, We praise thee, O God, as to each quality of the great God, according to his wonderful revelation, and wisdom, and beauty, and fruit, and form. 120. For the qualities rise up eternally, and so there is not with them or among them either beginning, middle or end. 121. Although I have written here how all is come to be, and how all is framed, formed and imaged, and how the Deity riseth up, yet for all that thou must not think that it hath any rest, ceasing or extinction, and that afterwards it riseth up thus again. 122. O no: But I must write in part or by pieces, for the Reader's better understanding, that he might thereby apprehend somewhat, and so attain the sense and meaning thereof. 123. Nor must thou think that I have climbed up aloft into heaven, and beheld it with my carnal or fleshly eyes. 0 no; hear me, thou
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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